Ukrainian pilot freed from Russia to be 'piranha' politician

Friday, June 10, 2016 - 01:17

Nadiya Savchenko, who spent nearly two years in solitary confinement in a Russian prison cell, has dived into a career in parliament and says Ukraine needs ''young blood.'' Rough Cut – subtitled (no reporter narration).

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ROUGH CUT - SUBTITLED (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
Pointing at a man hanging on a rope while fitting insulation onto a building across the road, Ukraine's most famous soldier sometimes wishes she had such a life, earning money with an exciting job without having to think about politics.
Instead, straight after spending nearly two years in solitary confinement in a Russian prison cell, Nadiya Savchenko has dived into a career in parliament, hoping to use honesty and plain speaking to fight corruption and end a separatist war.
"In the army, you believe that your friend watches your back, whereas here you understand that it's every man for himself and nobody believes anyone else," she said in an interview with Reuters on a bench outside her party's headquarters, where she smoked almost continuously.
"It's like I'm in an aquarium full of sharks, but I'm also a small piranha."
A 35-year-old helicopter pilot, Savchenko was captured during a mission to rescue wounded soldiers during a battle with Russian-backed rebels. She was spirited across the border and jailed on what Ukraine said were trumped up charges.
A Russian court sentenced her to 22 years in jail after finding her guilty of involvement in the deaths of two Russian journalists covering the fighting in eastern Ukraine. She denied any involvement, but many in Russia saw Savchenko as a nationalist with the blood of civilians on her hands.

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